Sing a New Creation: A Supplement to Common Praise
Sing a New Creation: A Supplement to Common Praise
The Anglican Church of Canada
Church Publishing, 344 pages
Hardcover, $29.95
2022
Reviewed by Kris Michaelson
WHEN INVITED to review Sing a New Creation [SNC]: A Supplement to Common Praise [CP] (1998), I was uncertain which of my experiences – as a priest or as a musician – was proposed to refine the other as I reflected; I leave it to the reader to discern which voice prevails here!
The aim of SNC, as described by Kenneth Hull (convenor of the Supplement task force) is ‘to expand, refresh and enliven the church’s existing singing practice: responding to expressed needs, including new texts/tunes by Canadian Anglicans and reflecting the global character of the church.’ True to this goal, SNC presents additional musical resources, rather than a comprehensive, stand-alone collection.
Exceeding CP, the Supplement offers selections within four new sections: Gathering (13); Sending (7); Prayers of the People (2–one more rhythmic, the other more reflective); and Prayer Responses (12) that augment the Common Refrains of CP and facilitate locally-occasioned prayer litanies with sung responses.
Further, SNC strengthens CP by including options suitable for congregational meetings and social events; paperless, rote teaching of songs to children (and adults!), which SNC delineates using an ‘ear’ icon; and ‘congregational prelude’ singing. Moreover, a broad range of a cappella, canon (sung-as-a-round), guitar, solo-instrument and percussion-supported singing is both accommodated and indeed encouraged.
Also new is the expansion of the Praise section to include songs of Lament (4 partitioned hymns, plus 9 scattered elsewhere), a neglected topic in recent worship expression, but one that acknowledges and offers the reality of suffering in liturgy, echoing and reflective of the Psalms and Lamentations of Jeremiah.
This author asks the reader’s indulgence in the following, rather pedantic catalogue of Daily, Dominically-Sacramental, Church-Year and pastoral-service offerings, with annotations, subjective as they most certainly are:
Though the richness of their musical diversity might encourage more twilight services, four new Evening hymns possibly outstrip the current preference given to morning worship, which receives only one additional selection.
Seven lyrical, Baptismal reflections (one for an infant/child, two for ‘believers’ and four more general, each rich in biblical imagery) complement five additional Eucharistic pieces, which celebrate Holy Communion as ‘daily bread’ for faithful living and commitment.
One wonders whether the single piece marked for the Reign of Christ might better serve among the seven new Advent designations, focused as they are on Christ’s First and Second Coming and the preparations we make for living now in-between the two.
Only three Christmas/Epiphany additions appear, two of them a bit ‘light’ perhaps on the profound significance of God’s Incarnation.
The two Lenten addendums (one reflecting on the imposition of ashes, and the other on the example Jesus sets us for facing temptation) supplement the six new songs for Holy Week, which invite our entering into and living out of Jesus’ own experience of those days.
Although the existing corpus for both Easter and Trinity is expanded by a ‘hymnic triduum’ each, Resurrection’s multicultural celebration is hindered somewhat by two rather wooden English translations and one alternate rendering of an existing CP setting. Correspondingly, two more recent texts that plumb the depths of Triune mystery accompany a third, adapted from Julian of Norwich (the musical setting for which is lovely!); however, the latter’s insightful, theological nuances – achieved by exploring the ‘mothering’ characteristics of God – may (sadly) be rejected outrightly by a culture that eschews any seemingly-stereotyped gender role.
One of the two Healing ‘adjuncts’ prays through the stark realities of aging and/or chronic illness, even as the Funeral section provides four further choices (one acknowledging that God grieves – just as we do, and two others expressing the strident heartache that accompanies the death of an infant or child).
The Service Music in SNC focusses primarily on settings for the Eucharist, though the aforementioned prayer responses can musically-facilitate any type of liturgy. Commendably and as planned, the former stylistically represent the global character of our Anglican Communion by including: African, Eastern European, South and Central American, Hassidic, Arabic, North-American Indigenous and even Blues settings. Of particular note are seven new Fraction/ Communion Anthems, which augment the historic Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) lyric (1 familiar chant-based,1 call/response, 1 four-part, percussion-accompanied, and 1 in canon) with four alternative text options, as well as an attractive, flexible-use setting of the Beatitudes with an Amen antiphon.
Lastly, despite SNC’s introductory ‘apology’ for the limited number and format of the indices, this author only notes the absence of a metrical index, possibly explained by the extensive utilization of text-unique metres.
Currently there is only a pew edition available. A practical note from this organist: a spiral-bound version that could lie flat would also be desirable.
Though I cannot commend the theology of every text contained in SNC, (there are 174 hymns and 50 service music items) inasmuch as any collection is used selectively in a given context, I do believe it provides many welcome additions to the pre-existing repertoire for helping enrich congregational singing among Christians in Canada, whether Anglican or not, and well beyond! TAP
The Rev’d Kris Michaelson, Rector of St. Paul’s Anglican Church and Chaplain to the local centre of the Royal Canadian College of Organists (RCCO) in Kingston, Ont., has served as an active church musician and composer for more than forty years.
